Creating fully-articulated figures with Shapeways?

I've seen a few people do this with Transformers (namely targetmasters, as they're small & their transformations are simple) but has anyone considered trying this with something a bit more ambitious?

I have zero skills with 3D modelling, so trying this myself will probably take a good deal of time & practice, but I'd like to see if I could produce a few mechs of my own design, and perhaps a few that aren't (I'd LOVE to have a figure of the M-308 Gunner from the NES game Metal Storm.)

The creators are usually pretty accessible so I would think they'd be the best source of information. I can imagine there's a lot of trial and error involved with designing and materials.

There is a woman on the Shapeways staff who makes little anime-style caricature of her coworkers, and they are printed model kits on the sprue, fully assembled with articulation. The joints aren't tight, and you really have to know what you're doing design-wise, but it's possible.

Thingiverse is also a place to look. You can contact creators through there, too, and they have a Google Group.

I have see. Two different camps when it comes to 3D printing articulation. Some makers will engineer functional joint parts right I to the printed parts like BOO does. Some even borrow from a standard set of joint part files that seem to be kicking around on places like Thingiverse. I go the other route, which is to design my parts around using pre-existing aftermarket joint parts that are available from companies like Kotobukiya and Hobby Wave. These are basically the polycaps from Gundam kits a available in sprues by size, and they are incredibly useful. I haven't tried printing anything with pegs and sockets as part of the models yet because I am still getting a feel for the tolerances of my printer, but it's definitely something I plan on attempting.